Thursday, January 17, 2013

Discoveries

Since my word of the year is "discover" I am trying to be all about seeing, tasting, experiencing and discovering something new this year. I will share if I find anything interesting.

My first discovery of 2013 is Archie McPhee's—a store for the kid in all of us.


We went up to Seattle last week for a couple of days with our friends Norm and Paula. Paula took us to Archie McPhee's. I had heard about it, but never been there. Toys and novelties are what McPhee's is all about. Goofy stuff.



How gross do these items sound?

Larger-than-life stuff. Always a hit.

I was seriously tempted by this full-head latex chicken mask, then I remembered how hot and smelly latex masks are, but what a great chicken! They also had dogs, sheep, pigs and a horse head that would be terrifying to find in your bed.



Pretty funny stuff. It was easy to find a couple of silly gifts for the grandkids.

If you don't plan to be in Seattle anytime soon, they have a website.http://www.mcphee.com/shop/

Today I set out to discover what would happen if I cut up a less-than-successful quilt and then put it back together in a new way, which was something Elizabeth Barton suggested when I posted my latest work the other day. Remember this boring number?





I grabbed my rotary cutter and attacked it with glee. Then used narrow black strips to put it back together.

Kind of fun. Kind of interesting.

I would need to trim it. Maybe like this.




Or maybe a more drastic trim.


I'm not sure this produced anything very good, but I do think it is more interesting than it was!

More cutting and resewing? What do you think?

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:14 PM

    Terry, I sort of like the middle one best. To me the bottom or more trimmed one has no point of reference. My eye needs the oval doorways to make it look complete.... you understand that this might just mean that I'm a compulsive, wanting to be organized person who walks around making things look balanced more than a person with a good eye for art. Nevertheless, I keep looking and going back to that one so for what it is worth...there it is.

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  2. Well, I think you might be on to something with your your little black strips...keep going, you need about 6-8 more!

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  3. Far more interesting cut up! I like both cropped/trimmed versions. Your skinny black strips reference the dark outlines on your previous work and therefore seem very natural and somehow very you even though they are totally new. I think you are on to something. Dare I suggest chopping up a few unloved artworks and seeing what happens if you combine them? On second thought, take that with a grain of salt since I routinely chop up, deconstruct, or paint over work I'm not happy with.

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  4. Funny how differently we react--I'm immediately drawn to the last one because it doesn't have a point of reference ;) That with the distortion makes me smile and look again. I too think you're onto something. How about another diagonal slash? Is that asking too much?

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  5. Nothing in the left upper section was cut, so I think a few more whacks might be in order. Maybe put them together without the black strips for a little variety. Or not.

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  6. I really like the bottom cropped version and as Caroline said, perhaps a little slash and stitch in the upper left. It makes me think of using a zoom lens and loosing my orientation months later when I am cleaning out the memory card. :) You are on to something fun here! Have a fabulous weekend. (Hopefully, one with some sunshine!)

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  7. I love them all! Especially the bottom one, just the way it is. Not too fussy. It feels like you're looking through a modern leaded glass window.

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  8. It looks great! I actually like the outside border being left untrimmed,for some reason I find it interesting with the uneven edges. I like the amount of slashing you have done.
    I love your new larger quilt with all the little houses etc added to the pieced yellow background!
    Regards
    Maree (In NZ)

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